Yekaterina Gamova
Paola Egonu
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Yekaterina Gamova leads 2 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Yekaterina Gamova at #9 and Paola Egonu at #11.
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The case for Yekaterina Gamova
A 2.02-metre opposite whose combination of height and power made her one of the most physically dominant attackers the women's game has seen. Gamova led Russia to World Championship titles in 2006 and 2010, taking MVP honours in 2010, and won Olympic silver in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Hitting down over the block from a standing reach few could match, she was for a decade the go-to scorer whenever Russia needed a point, thriving in the era just after rally scoring rewarded terminal firepower. She also collected multiple European and club titles across a long career in Russia and abroad. Gamova never captured the Olympic gold her talent deserved, but her twin World Championships, imposing presence and sustained production place her firmly among the greatest opposites of all time and a template for the tall, powerful right-side attackers who followed, up to and including Paola Egonu.
The case for Paola Egonu
The most explosive scorer in the contemporary women's game and the face of Italian volleyball. A left-handed opposite of exceptional power, Egonu combines a towering standing reach with one of the heaviest arms in the sport, routinely posting 30-plus points in a single match and setting scoring records in Italy's Serie A. She drove Italy to a silver medal at the 2018 World Championship and bronze in 2022, then to the crowning achievement of Olympic gold at Paris 2024 - Italy's first Olympic women's volleyball title - as one of the tournament's decisive attackers. She has also won multiple Nations League titles and European medals, and starred for elite clubs in Italy and Turkey. Still in her mid-twenties, Egonu has already reshaped expectations of what an opposite can score, and her blend of raw power and improving all-round play makes her the benchmark for the current generation. As of the 2024-25 season she remained at the pinnacle.